The Ark Files - SIZZLING SALAMANDERS, IT'S HOT OUTSIDE

Summer's here! It's time for humans to get the swimming togs out and crank up the air conditioner because it's going to be a hot one. But how are our animal friends going to stay cool?

Lickety split

When the heat becomes intense, kangaroos energetically lick their saliva into a frothy lather in the fur on their arms. Evaporation draws heat from the blood beneath. All this is thanks to a special network of capillaries close to the skin on the inside of their forearms.

Would you like salt on that?

The desert holly grows out in the open in the American deserts where there is no shade. The holly's leaves excrete salt, absorbed from the ground and transported in its sap. This forms a fine white powder on the surface of the leaf which reflects some of the heat in just the same way as the white clothes of an athlete do!

Rain, rain

any Australian frogs head underground to avoid hot, dry conditions. They are able to stay there for long periods without needing to come to the surface. How? Why, a cocoon of course! A cocoon of dead skin stops their bodies losing much-needed moisture. Water that they store in the bladder goes back into the body as it is required. When rain comes, these frogs wake up from their "cocoon snooze" and dig to the surface. They pull the cocoon from their body, eat it and then go in search of a mate.

Come on baby light my fire!

Creatures that call the desert home go to a lot of trouble to conserve the liquid they hold in their bodies. Their droppings are super-dry. A camel's dung is so dry it can be used to fuel a fire almost as soon as it is produced! So remember, the next time you are travelling by camel express, all you will need to pack is the matches!

Hey, Big Ears!

Large ears are helpful in picking up every sound in the still of the desert, but they have other uses as well. Networks of tiny blood vessels run through the ears so close to the surface of the skin, back and front, that air blowing across them cools the blood that runs through them.

Leapin' Lizards

Ever had to walk across the road on a really hot day with no shoes on? Well, imagine if you had to do that every day. Some lizard friends have to cope with this task on a daily basis. But don't worry, they've worked out ways to keep their toes from sizzling.

Some lizards choose to rest the weight of their body on the balls of their feet with their toes extended in the air to catch a passing breeze. Others rest on their elbow joints, raising their feet off the baking sand. Some lizards go for the one ... two ... shuffle-step - that's where they shuffle their feet through the sand, pushing the hottest sand aside and walking on the cooler sand beneath. These are some clever little reptilians!